Van Dijk denies he's to blame for Netherlands' World Cup exit

There are press conferences that are just going through the motions, and there are others where you can tell a player showed up with something to get off his chest. This was the latter. Virgil van Dijk stood in front of the Dutch media and answered, without holding back, those who point to him as the one responsible for the Netherlands' World Cup exit.

It all stems from a theory that circulated in the Dutch press: that it was the captain himself who pushed then head coach Ronald Koeman to change the system and play with a five man backline, the switch that ended up costing the Netherlands their spot in the tournament against Morocco in the round of 16, on penalties. Van Dijk didn't let the question slide.

"One of your colleagues said, sure, that it was my idea to switch to a back five. That's complete nonsense," he told a reporter.

The Liverpool center back went further and put the focus on something he says is being overlooked: the result on the field. They lost, plain and simple. There's no need to hunt for individual scapegoats when the whole team fell short.

The fact is we simply failed at the World Cup. Those are the hard facts. We didn't play a good World Cup. This isn't about me. You perform as a team, you are a team. The idea that I destroyed Dutch football after the World Cup, claims like that have no basis at all.Virgil van Dijk

Van Dijk was even more direct in explaining how game plans actually get put together for a national team: it's not one player's call, no matter how much of a captain or a star he is. "The plan is designed by the coaching staff. Nonsense is being spread to make me look even worse. It happens way too often," he added, visibly uncomfortable with the whole situation.

He even pushed back on the idea that the tactical plan itself had failed, pointing out that the setup held up for 89 minutes, even though it wasn't a good match, and that the Netherlands came close to breaking the deadlock. "The idea that I destroyed Dutch football doesn't make any sense. I didn't decide that," he said, closing the subject.

With an eye on cap number 100

Controversy aside, Van Dijk, 35, has a concrete target during this international break: he could reach his 100th cap for the Netherlands if he logs minutes across the four Nations League matches against Germany, Greece and Serbia (whom the Dutch will face twice).

The defender also admitted that after the loss to Morocco, he took some time to think about his future with the national team. It wasn't an easy decision, but a conversation with the new coach, Xavi, cleared up any doubt.

I needed a vacation with my family and then an important meeting with the national coach: within ten seconds it was already clear I was going to continue.Virgil van Dijk

Asked about that conversation, Van Dijk revealed what actually convinced him to keep going. "What did he tell me? That I'm Virgil van Dijk. It's about trust, about being valued, about how important you are to the team. Physically there's no doubt, there never was, but you also want to feel that appreciation and that enjoyment," the defender explained, making clear that despite the criticism, his mind is still fully with the national team.